Give Me a SQUEEZE! Isometrics Revisited…
Posted on July 20, 2008 by DFHS Article Team
by Lani Muelrath, M.A.,
Are you sitting down?
Don’t worry, I haven’t shocking news! I’m just going to lead you in a little exercise. (No matter, if you aren’t sitting, you can do this standing, too.) We’re going to revisit isometrics.
Right now, give your backyard a good squeeze.
No, I don’t mean run outside and hug the garden…I mean the backyard of your body!
Gently yet firmly start to contract the muscles in your “seat” until you’ve got all the muscle fibers you can recruit locked and loaded. Then squeeze with all your might for 5 – 10 seconds, breathing the whole time.
Congratulations! What you’ve just done is an isometric exercise. It is the voluntary tensing of a muscle, or muscles, without moving the angle of a joint. With isometrics, you are tightening the muscle in place without motion, against your own resistance, or leveraged against an object.
And it is one of the the best techniques found for building muscle, enhancing shape, and ramping up the metabolism!
How Isometrics Work
How does tensing a muscle stimulate you to develop muscle, resulting in a stronger, tighter, firmer, (and shapelier!) physique? The answer lies in the tension. The degree of tension, or intensity of a contraction, stimulates new muscle growth. And when you are really giving it all you’ve got, you will reach maximum contraction in 7 to 10 seconds! Without added weight (resistance), or even movement.
Isometric contraction will develop strength and aesthetics particularly well, and contribute powerfully toward creating a beautifully sculpted physique. PLUS you can do them anywhere, any time!
Isometric exercises also have the distinct advantage of minimizing stress to joints. This is one reason I have been able to use them effectively with clients who may be in need of muscle building activity yet are temporarily sidelined from fully functional locomotion or isotonic exercise, which is movement against resistance.
Building muscle is a cornerstone of any solid fitness approach; muscle regulates metablic function, conserves strength, and is a powerful agent in increasing insulin sensitivity, largely due to the effect larger muscle mass has on body composition, or fat vs. muscle.
One cautionary note: people who have high blood pressure should of course check with their health care provider before engaging in exercise, and with isometrics, it is particularly important to avoid holding the breath during any point of exercise. Keep breathing, and you should be fine!
Watch for upcoming articles on a belly-flattening isometric exercise!
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